Job Design and Employee Engagement in Telecommunications Firms in Lagos State

This research examines the relationship between job design characteristics and employee engagement in telecommunications firms in Lagos State, Nigeria's South West commercial hub. As the telecommunications sector continues to evolve rapidly with digital transformation imperatives, organisations face increasing pressure to design roles that sustain high engagement and retain talent. This study adopts a descriptive survey design with data collected from 125 employees across three telecommunications companies through structured questionnaires. Analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics and regression analysis. The study evaluates five job design dimensions drawn from Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model: skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback, relating each to employee engagement indicators including absorption, dedication, and vigour. Findings reveal that autonomy and feedback are the most significant job design predictors of overall employee engagement, followed by skill variety. Task identity and task significance showed moderate positive associations with engagement, particularly among senior technical staff. The study also finds that managerial communication quality partially mediates the relationship between feedback and engagement, highlighting the importance of supervisory behaviour in translating job design intentions into engagement outcomes. Recommendations include conducting periodic job enrichment reviews, expanding employee decision-making authority, and standardising feedback delivery systems. Keywords: job design, employee engagement, telecommunications, Lagos State, job characteristics.